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SEPTEMBER 2014 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
GGF Disappointed with
Green Deal Fund Closure
The GGF says it is disappointed that
new Energy Minister Amber Rudd has
been forced to shut down the Green
Deal money back scheme, following
a sudden surge in applications which
cleared out £70 million of ringfenced budget in just two days. The
entire £120m budget was intended
to last 12 months.
In a statement, DECC confirmed that “all
applications received prior to the fund closing that satisfy the terms and conditions and
meet the eligibility criteria will be honoured
at the original rates”.
Nigel Rees, GGF Group Chief Executive
commented, “The Fund has done virtually
nothing for the window industry as homeowners only qualified for the fund, if they
were replacing single glazing. This was a
relatively pointless requirement because
there’s very little single glazing in owner
occupier homes. It’s fair to say, no other
industry had such a proviso put upon them
and yet again the window industry has
been offered practically nothing from this
initiative. With such low impact during its
existence there will be little difference to
the replacement window industry now that
it has closed.”
www.ggf.org.uk
GLAZERITE
‘SPECIAL’
PLANT IS UP
AND RUNNING
Pioneer Trading Invests
In New Systems To
Improve Efficiency
All production for the fabricator’s
acclaimed Vertical Sliding Sash window as well as its new VEKA Imagine
Bi-fold, and Residence 9 flush sash
window ranges will now be carried out
at the new purpose-built unit, using
over £500,000 of advanced new machinery and a team of fu lly dedicated
personnel. Also joining these will be
the innovative New Wave slide-swing
door and the imminent VEKA Imagine
patio door.
Combined with the
existing Business Micros
Evolution software which
deals with order processing,
quoting and ordering, Pioneer customers are enjoying the benefits of a single
fully integrated system that
enables the tracking of orders from the initial contact
and quote stage through to
delivery, the latter enabled
through the bar coded scanning system commissioned
recently to on-and-off load
vehicles.
“The installation of the
latest module is especially
effective at stock control
and re-ordering,” explained
Danny Williams, Pioneer’s
Managing Director. “We are
now able to track every
quote, through to every
metre of bead, and every
order no matter what stage
of the production process it
has reached.”
Glazerite Windows Ltd has unveiled the biggest
single part of its £1million-plus investment for
2014 with the commissioning of its new ‘Specials’
factory alongside its Wellingborough HQ.
The dedicated plant will also free up nearly
30 percent of the space at the main plant at
Wellingborough, adding much-needed capacity to keep up with demand for its mainstream
products, as Director Jason Thompson explained: “Our sales are already up nearly 40%
in the first half of 2014 and without the new
specials factory, we might have soon reached
a bottleneck later in the year.
“The new unit also means we can start from
scratch to create the right environment for
making these specialised products, with new
and advanced machinery as well as dedicated specialist personnel. Some of the people
were already working with us but many were
recruited specifically.
“Now, we have not only the specialist lines
but also the added capacity to keep ahead of
growing demand and also be ready to take on
board future innovations.”
He added that all the new product ranges
are performing well but especially the new
Imagine Bi-fold, which has already exceeded
all expectations in the short time since the
system was launched.
The new factory has recently become operational on all lines after its initial launch in May
this year.
www.glazeritewindows.co.uk
Pioneer trading, the multi faceted Essex based trade
fabrication, IGU manufacturing and retail group,
has announced the commissioning of the ‘Evonet
Production and Despatch Planning and Reporting’
module of Business Micros’ impressive window
and door production management system.
The latest phase of the
company’s investment
marks Pioneer’s commitment to full automation throughout the
business in a continuous drive to improve
efficiency.
The system is particularly
important to Pioneer as the
company grows as a result
of successful expansion in
commercial markets including work on Crossrail (the
50/50 joint venture company owned by Transport
for London (TfL) and the
Department for Transport
(DfT) related contracts, estates refurbishment and the
recently reported growth in
exports of conservatories.
“The key to the Business
Micros system is how it
delivers such complexi-
ty through the simplest
inputs,” added Danny. “At
every point in the system
the software is intuitive and
easy to become familiar
with, especially important
where new people are
employed and crucial to
continuity.”
Other aspects of the
business have not been
overlooked, as Pioneer also
invests in new racking and
handling and other logistical equipment at each of
the company’s Chelmsford
sites.